coobybook Chapter 1288 Yun Rui's sincerity: using you to accompany her
Chapter 1288 Yun Rui's sincerity: using you to accompany her
After Uncle Zhang sent Yang Xiaotang away, he stood there for a long time holding the yellowed investigation report. The old locust tree outside the window was swept by the cold wind and only dead branches were left, just like the bleak winter twenty years ago. Yang Bin broke into his office in police uniform, holding the on-site photo of Qi Zhifang falling into the river in his hand, and the red bloodshot in his eyes was more glaring than the bloodstains on the file.
He finally dialed Yang Bin's number. The receiver was filled with the ticking sound of an old-fashioned clock. It rang seven times before the call was picked up. Yang Bin's voice was hoarse, as if he had just woken up: "What's the matter?"
"Your daughter investigated Lin Xu's case." Uncle Zhang stared at the coffee stain on the table. The brown mark was like a winding river. "The British police closed the case. It was an accidental drowning."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by the sound of a lighter rubbing against the wall: "She's a girl from a pet hospital, why is she checking this?"
"Qi Ruixiang asked her to do it." Uncle Zhang paused and added, "Gu Yunxi saw a psychiatrist in the UK, and the diagnosis report is out."
"Don't get involved in Gu family affairs." Yang Bin's voice suddenly turned cold, "Isn't the lesson from that year enough?"
"But that's a life." Uncle Zhang raised his voice, "I've seen Lin Xu's DNA report, it's indeed him. But don't you think it's too coincidental? The day he disappeared was exactly the day after Gu Yunqian went to London."
There was another silence, this time longer than before.
Uncle Zhang seemed to be able to see Yang Bin sitting on the old rattan chair, holding a cigarette between his fingers, with a long piece of ash piled up but he was completely unaware of it - this was his habit when he had something on his mind.
"See you at the usual place tomorrow afternoon at three o'clock." Yang Bin hung up the phone. The busy tone was like a thin needle, piercing Uncle Zhang's eardrums.
The next day, the teahouse was facing the moat. When Yang Bin arrived, Gu Yunqian was already sitting by the window.
The Biluochun tea in the celadon teacup was steaming. The man was wearing a dark gray suit. The emerald cufflinks on his cuffs shone coldly in the sun, which was totally out of place in this old teahouse.
"It seems that you are very busy with official duties. You made me wait for you for so long." Gu Yunqian pushed a cup of tea over with a faint smile on his face. "I thought you would find an excuse not to come."
Yang Bin didn't take the teacup. He took out a manila envelope from his pocket and pushed it over: "Lin Xu's autopsy report, a file from the British police."
His voice sounded like sandpaper grinding against wood. "My daughter is ignorant and has caused trouble for Mr. Gu."
Gu Yunqian picked up the envelope but did not open it. He tapped the cover with his fingertips. "You are joking. Xiaotang is very capable. She is more useful than some people who eat government food. It would be a pity not to let her inherit your legacy."
This sentence hit Yang Bin's sore spot.
He recalled the case closing report he had submitted twenty years ago, in which he had written the words "accidental drowning" faster than anyone else.
"When does Mr. Gu plan to tell Yunxi?" Yang Bin felt like smoking and fumbled in his pocket for a long time before he remembered that smoking was not allowed in the teahouse.
"Let's talk about it when she gets better." Gu Yunqian picked up the teacup and blew away the tea leaves floating on the water. "The doctor said she can't stand the stimulation."
"Aren't you afraid that she will find out herself?" Yang Bin stared at him. "Qi Ruixiang doesn't seem to believe it was an accident."
"Qi Ruixiang?" Gu Yunqian chuckled, "He just wants to take advantage of the situation."
He put down the teacup, his eyes suddenly sharp, "But you, your daughter did these things behind your back, you really didn't know anything at all?"
Yang Bin's face darkened instantly. He stood up suddenly, and the chair legs made a harsh sound on the bluestone slabs: "Mr. Gu, my daughter has grown up and I am old. I hope you can leave some space for us."
"I kept it." Gu Yunqian looked up at him, his eyes devoid of warmth. "I have arranged for someone to send a pension to Lin Xu's parents. I will have Cambridge publish his thesis. This is the limit of what I can do."
Yang Bin's fists were clenched white at his side. He knew that Gu Yunqian was telling the truth. With the power of the Gu family, being able to do this was already a great honor for him.
But remembering what Uncle Zhang said about "the day after Gu Yunqian went to London", and the confusion in his daughter's eyes, he couldn't help but say, "You have made arrangements for Lin Xu's parents, but what about Qi Ruixiang? Can you bear to keep him in the dark?"
Gu Yunqian paused. The sunlight shone through the window onto his face, half bright and half dark.
Yang Bin said nothing more and turned to leave the teahouse. The frosty wind blew up the corners of his clothes, and the cruise ship on the river slowly passed by, leaving a long water mark, just like the secrets buried by time, seemingly disappeared, but always surging in the dark...
The moment the security door locked with a click, Yang Xiaotang was bending over to change his shoes.
The sound of the key turning in the lock was particularly harsh in the silent living room. She sat up suddenly and watched her father put the bunch of brass keys into the inner pocket of his shirt, her Adam's apple rolling violently.
"Dad, what are you doing?" Her voice was tense, and her fingertips were clenched on the copy of Lin Xu's autopsy report that she had just taken from Uncle Zhang. The edge of the paper left red marks on her palm.
Yang Bin didn't look at her, but walked straight to the window and closed the heavy curtains.
The dusk was blocked outside the window, and the living room suddenly became dark, with only the ticking of the old-fashioned clock floating in the air. "From today on, you are not allowed to go out." His voice was like ice, "I have already asked for leave from the pet hospital for you."
"Why do you do that?" Yang Xiaotang slammed the report on the coffee table, and the copies scattered all over the floor. "You are so brave. You dare to use my connections to please your people! Is it because my attitude is not firm enough?"
"Qi Ruixiang is still waiting for my news. He just wants to know an answer!"
When Qi Ruixiang's name was mentioned, Yang Bin's face suddenly darkened. He crumpled up the report and threw it into the trash can: "Do you think he really cares about the truth? He is now accompanying Gu Yunxi to watch operas and visit galleries in London, having a great time under the moonlight!"
These words were like a basin of cold water, pouring over Yang Xiaotang's heart.
She stumbled back half a step and bumped into the armrest of the sofa. "You're talking nonsense!" Her voice was trembling, but she had no confidence, "He and she are not in that kind of relationship!"
"Am I talking nonsense?" Yang Bin flipped through a photo on his phone, with the screen facing his daughter. In the photo, Qi Ruixiang was holding a black umbrella, standing under the London Eye. Beside him, Gu Yunxi was wearing a beige coat, looking up at him and smiling, with the ginkgo leaf necklace around her neck shining in the rain.
"This was taken yesterday. Someone saw them feeding the swans by the Thames."
Yang Xiaotang's vision blurred.
She recalled how she had run across half the city in the cold wind to investigate the case;
I remember staying up three all-nighters at Uncle Zhang's detective agency to confirm the details of the autopsy report;
I remember that every time I called Qi Ruixiang, he would say "busy", but there was faint sound of piano in the background.
It turns out that all that “busyness” was about accompanying another woman.
She suddenly laughed, and the laughter echoed in the empty living room, carrying an indescribable sadness. "So you locked me up?" She pointed at the door lock, her eyes red, "Dad, you are a policeman! You know the law but you break it!"
"Anyway, you are not allowed to investigate further. I have the key. We can talk about it when you figure it out."
After he finished speaking, he walked into the study and closed the door heavily.
When the sound of the door being locked was heard, Yang Xiaotang slowly squatted down and picked up the fragments of the report on the ground.
The rain outside the window started falling at some point, hitting the glass, as if crying for her.
She walked to the window and looked at the empty street downstairs. Her phone vibrated in her pocket. It was a message from Qi Ruixiang: "Xiaotang, thank you. I have a meeting to attend..."
He didn't ask her what she found, nor did he mention Lin Xu's autopsy report. The name of another woman was everywhere...